No to Trident

Trident is Britain's nuclear weapons system. It's made up of four submarines – one of which is on patrol at all times - carrying up to 40 nuclear warheads on board. Each of these warheads is eight times more powerful than the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of the biggest supporters of replacing Trident in 2007, has admitted that the only purpose of maintaining the nuclear weapons system is to give Britain status.

Trident and legality

These weapons have no legitimate purpose: their use would be illegal under almost every conceivable circumstance, as huge numbers of civilian casualties would be unavoidable. That is why the International Court of Justice ruled in 1996 the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be contrary to the rules of international law.

Trident and security

Not only are these weapons immoral, potentially genocidal and strategically irrelevant in the face of the realistic threats we face today, they are also hugely expensive. The Government's National Security Strategy identifies international terrorism, cyber-attacks and natural hazards as greater threats than nuclear war.

Trident and its cost

The current government is in favour of replacing Trident at a cost of around £100 billion. This money would be enough to fully fund A&E services for 40 years, employ 150,000 new nurses, build 1.5 million affordable homes, build 30,000 new primary schools, or cover tuition fees for 4 million students.

Trident and the election

Trident was a major point of debate in the 2010 General Election and resulted in a commitment to a review into the alternatives to the current Trident system.

The Labour party also pledged to include Trident in a post-election Strategic Defence and Security Review.

With another General Election looming in May, nuclear weapons are once again a big issue, with the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party stating that they would make Trident replacement a 'red line' in any negotiations on forming a government with Labour.

A majority of the British public are in favour of scrapping Trident, and we're campaigning to make this happen – but we need your help!